1. Field of Application
This invention relates to item counters; and more particularly to devices for successfully counting similar numbers of items upon separation thereof from a larger grouping of such items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is quite often necessary to package or otherwise collect a number of sets or groups of items; each group or set containing the same count. One obvious way of accomplishing this is by merely hand counting each item, one at a time, until the desired number for the set or group is reached; and then repeating the process until all items are so counted or the desired number of sets or groups is attained. Hand counting, however, is slow and tedious and subject to considerable human error.
Machine counters are available in many forms and configurations. Most such machines are quite complex in configuration and operation and as such costly to manufacture and operate. A good number of such machine counters also effect their counting by counting one item at a time. This is not only subject to error, but requires a cycle time which is different for each different count and which obviously increases in duration as the number of items in the count increases.
One commonly available counter for provided sets or groups of planar ticket-like or tag-like items (such as the machine marked identification tickets utilized in retail stores), requires a rotating wheel with vacuum operated suction heads each of which removes a ticket-like item from a stack of such items disposed in a supply magazine. Such devices are also not error free since they might miss picking up a ticket-like item. In addition the cycle time for compiling a set of a given number, for such devices, extends as the given number of items in the set or group is extended.